LIHUE — The Planning Department is recommending the Planning Commission approve the General Plan Update when it meets Tuesday. The seventh supplemental draft of the General Plan Update, which was last updated in 2000, will be presented. Revisions include adding
LIHUE — The Planning Department is recommending the Planning Commission approve the General Plan Update when it meets Tuesday.
The seventh supplemental draft of the General Plan Update, which was last updated in 2000, will be presented.
Revisions include adding language to meet the needs of residents in Kilauea by expanding the town’s ball park, building a sewage treatment system and utilizing roundabouts and other traffic calming measures.
When it comes to transportation policies, the supplemental draft aims to reduce congestion by improving infrastructure and increasing options for multimodal transportation options.
It does not call for building more roads.
“Past studies and efforts have demonstrated that trying to build our way out of congestion through a focus solely on road widening and construction of new roads is neither feasible nor sustainable, and threatens our unique rural sense of place,” the report reads.
Not everyone is happy with the update. Gabriela Taylor, a Kapaa resident, said the draft does not address population growth and changes Kapaa’s designation from “Small” to a “Large Town Place Type. That means up to 780 dwellings at Hokua Place could be built.
“The public is upset, even disgusted with the outcome, after we’ve been working on this for two years,” she said.
The General Plan Update serves as a blueprint for Kauai’s future.
The $1.2 million project started in 2013.
A 357-page updated discussion draft was released Nov. 4, after 18 months of public outreach.
The Planning Commission meeting will begin at 9 a.m. at the Lihue Civic Center, Moikeha Building, meeting room 2A-2B
To view the draft, go to plankauai.com.
